Semi-weekly south Kentuckian., 1887-05-10

sAe%N
been.
@Great Godp l shrielsed, "where is Lea
Leol Leoln
"He's gone, sir; God help him" roared Jot
inty my ear, and such was the fury Of The
SO iall that his voice sounded like whisper.
|. wrung my hands in agony. Leo was
drowned, and was left alive to mourn him.
"Look outl" yelled job; "here comes an
other"
l turned; second huge wave was over
taking us. l hoped it would drown me-
With a curious fascination / watched its
Cwful advent The moon was nearly hidden
now by the wTeaths of the rushing storm, hui
little light still caught the crest OF
the devouring breaker There was some
thing dark in it-a piece of wreciage. 1t was
ON us now, and the boat was nearly full OF
water. But she was built in air tight com
partmenus-holgcn bless the man who in
vented theml-and lifted up through ID like a
owan. Through the foam and turmoil saw
Che black thing on, the wave hurrying right
nt me. Iput out my right arm to ward it
from me and my hand closed on another arm,
the wrist of which my fingers gripped like a
wise. | am very strong man, and had
something to hold to, but my arm was nearly
torn from its socket by the strain and
weight of the floating body. Had the rush
lasted another two seconds / must either have
let 60 or gone with it. But it passed, leaving
us up TO our knees in water.
aBail outl bail outlp shouted Job, suiting
the action to the word.
But / could not bail just then, for as tho
moon went out and left us in total darkness
one faint, flying ray of light lit upon the face
of the man had gripped, who was now half
lying, half floating, in the bottom Of the boat.
cit was Leo. Leo brought back by tho
wave-back, dead or alive, from the very
jaws OF death.
aBail out bail outl" yelled Job. "or wa
shall founder
seized large tin bowl with a handle TO
it, which was fixed under one of the seats,
and the three of us bailed away for dear life.
The furious tempest drove over and round us,
fiinging the boat this way and that; the wind
and the storm wreaths and the sheets of
singing spray blinded and bewildered us;
but through it all we worked like demons,
with the wild exhilaration OF despair, for
even despair can exhilarate One minutel
three minrtesl six minutesl The boat began
to tighten, and no fresh wave swamped u.s.
Five minutes more and she was fairly clear
Then, suddenly, above the awful shriekings
of the hurricane came duller, deeper roar.
Great heavensi 1t was the voice of breakers.
At that moment the moon began to shine
out again, this time behind the path of the
sauall. Out far across the torn bosom Of the
ocean shot the ragged arrows of her light,
and there, half a mile ahead of us, was q
white line OF foam, then little space of open
mouthed blnclkness, and then another line of
white. 1t was the breakers, and their roar
grew clearer and yet more clear as we sped
down upon them like q swallow. There they
werc boiling up in snowy spouts Of spray,
shifting and gnashing together like the gleam-
ing teeth of hell.
"Take the tiller, Mahomedl" l roared in
Arnblc; Hwe must try and shoot them" At
the same moment seized an oar and got it
out, motioning to Job to do likewise.
Mahomed clambered aft and got hold of the
tiller, and with some difficulty Job, who had
sometimes pulled tub upon the homely Cam,
got out his oar In another minute her head
was straight on to the ever nearing line,
toward which she plunged and tore with the
speed of a race horse. Just In front of us tho
first line seemed little thinner than to the
right or left; there was q gap of rather deeper
water turned and pointed to it.
"Steer for your life, Mahomedn yelled.
He was a skillful steersman, and well ac-
quainted with the dangers of this most peril
Gus coast, and saw him grip the tiller and
bend his heavy frame forward, and stare al
the foaming terror till his big round eyes
looked ns though they would start out Of his
,l,n l,1F fba Iriv
boats head round TO starboard. II we struck
the line of breakers fifty yards to starboard
of the gap we must sink. II was great field
of twisting, spouting waves Mahomed
planted his foot against the seat before him
and glancing at him l saw his brown toes
spread out like hand with the weight he put
upon them as he took tho strain Of the tiller.
She came round bit, but not enough. i
roared to Job to back water, while dragged
and labored at my oarl She answered now,
and none too soon. Heavensl we were in
them. And then followed couple Of minutes
of heartbreaking excitement such as l cannot
hope to describe All remember is n shriek-
ing sea of foam, out Of which the pillows rose
here, there and everywhere, like avenging
ghosts from their ocean grave. Once we
were turned right round, but either by chance
or through Mahomed's sl1illful steering, the
boats head came straight again before a
breaker filed u.s. Once more-a monster.
We were through 1t or over it-more through
than overland then, with wild yell OF
exultation from the Arab, We shot out into
the comparative smooth water of the mouth
Of sea between the teeth like lines of gnashing
waves.
But we were half full Of water again, and
not moro than half mile ahead was the sec
ond line of breakers. Again we set to AND
bailed furiously. Fortunately the storm had
now quite gone by, and the moon shonG
brightly, revealing rocky headland running
half mile or more out into the sea, of which
tho second line of breakers appeared to be G
continuation. Atany rate, they boiled arount
its foot. Probably the ridge that made itrar
out into the ocean, only at a lower level, ant
formed the reef. This headland was termi
mated by curious peak that seemed not t.
DO more than a mile way from us. Just al
We got the boat pretty clear for the second
time Leo, to my immense relief, opened his
eyes and remarked that the clothes had tum
bled off the bed and that he supposed it was
time to get up foT chapel told him to shut
his eyes and keep quiet, which he did without
in the slightest degree realizing the position
AS for myself, his reference to chapel made
me reflect with "a sort of sick longing ON my
comfortable rooms at Cambridge Why had
been such fool as TO leave theml This is Q
reflection that has several times recurred tc
me since with ever increasing force.
But now again we nre drifting down on the
breakers, though with lessened speed, for the
wind had fallen and only the current or tide
lt afterward turned out TO be the tide was
driving us
Another minute, and with sort OF howl tc
Allah from the Arab, pious ejaculation from
myself, and something that was not piou'
from Job, we were In them. And then th,
whole scene, down to our final escape, re
peated itself, only not quite SO violently
Mahomed's slsillful steering and the air tight
compartments saved our lives. In five min
utes we were through, and drifting-for we
were too exhausted to do anything to helT
ourselves except keep her head dstraight-witl
the most startling rapidity round the head
land which have described.
Round we went with the tide, until we got
well under the lee of the point, and then sud
denly the speed slackened, we ceased TO make
way, and finally appeared to be in dead
water. The storm had entirely passed, leav.
ing a clean washed sky behind IL; the head.
land intercepted the heavy sea that had. been
occasioned by the squall, and the tide, which
had been running so tercely up the river for